September 6, 2024
Friday Open Comments
Joe Strummer, once of The Clash, released the song “Johnny Appleseed” with his band “The Mescaleros” back in around 2001. The song recently crossed my mind, for no reason in particular, other than I recalled liking the sound of it:
Lovely sentiment: wonder what it means.
If you're after getting the honey, hey
Then you don't go killing all the bees
Joe was a punk rock legend, having written hits like “London Calling.” Unlike other punk musicians, he was not of the obnoxiously noisy type. He died way too young at age 50 in late 2002. Requiescat in pace.
Here is his Wikipedia biography. It contains the detail, supported by a quotation, that he was a socialist. This seems like a superfluous note in an artist’s bio. There’s something about musical performers and idealism hidden inside there, and something about the presumed clean, pure, and innocent nature of socialism that appeals to many artists. Or maybe that’s too condescending.
Anyway. I won’t let it detract from his music that I like.
Everyone likes the idea of communalism until they're asked to give something they value to someone else and never get it back. Then they're all, "Vlad ate my ice cream!" and I'm like, "This from you!"
That's a lively song, whatever it's about.